Here is today's summary of economic development news, a free service of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, representing Alabama's private sector investment in economic development. If you enjoy NewsFlash, thank an
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Sales: Statewide home sales totaled 5,729 units during July, up 7.9 percent from 5,312 sales in the same month a year earlier. However, July sales were down 8.7 percent compared to 6,277 sales in June. Results were 18.1 percent above the five-year July average of 4,848 sales. Two more resources to review:
Quarterly Report and
Annual Report.

Inventory: Homes listed for sale statewide during July totaled 24,220 units, a decrease of 12.1 percent from July 2017's 27,545 units, and an increase of .3 percent from June 2018's 24,159 units. Statewide markets also experienced year-over-year a decline in months of supply. July months of supply totaled 4.2 months, a decrease of 18.5 percent from July 2017's 5.2 months of supply. However, July's months of supply increased from June's 3.8 months of supply.

Huntsville-based Digium has been acquired by Sangoma Technologies Corporation for $28 million.

Founded in 1999, Digium is the creator of open source communication software Asterisk, the UCaaS (Unified Communication as a Service) platform, the Switchvox premise-based phone system and other products.

The deal is expected to close Aug. 31 and creates a company with more than 300 employees.

"These awards give us an opportunity to say thank you to the people who have made downtown Gadsden successful," said Kay Moore, director of Downtown Gadsden, Inc. "We nominate these people because they work hard."

AUBURN, Ala.- The Auburn Regional Alabama Launchpad Competition is returning to the Auburn area for the second year in a row, giving local entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete for funding and receive valuable mentoring as they develop their business ideas.

After concluding the 2018 competition where
three of the 11 participating start-ups were awarded funding, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), the City of Auburn, Auburn University and the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation (ARTF) have again partnered to bring the regional Alabama Launchpad Startup Competition to the greater Auburn area. The Auburn Regional Alabama Launchpad is set to begin in October with startups competing for a share of up to $50,000. New ventures and startups from five counties in East Alabama-Chambers, Lee, Macon, Russell and Tallapoosa- are invited to begin submitting applications on Oct. 1.

The business community has long called for more direct flights out of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport to draw new businesses to the Magic City, among other things.

The Birmingham Airport Authority is taking up that torch as it seeks to hire an air service consultant to work alongside its staff to recruit new airlines and attract more routes.

"The city of Birmingham is experiencing a revival under the new administration, and this is the time for the Authority to build upon the city's synergy by doing everything within our capacity to bring the city, businesses and community leaders together to promote economic development," said Toni Herrera-Bast, public relations and marketing manager for the BAA. "In the coming months, we will be paving the way for stronger partnerships and innovative approaches for realizing our passengers' top priority: access to more nonstop flights."